Admittedly, I am not an eyeshadow person. I think it looks really pretty on other people but I rarely wear it because it almost always makes me feel too dressed up. However, that doesn’t stop me from being a sucker for pretty colors, especially when it comes to Urban Decay palettes. I have Naked 1, the Smoked palette and Naked Basics. Again, they don’t get much use but when I do use them, I really like them and make an oath to wear more eyeshadow. I always shirk that oath, so it’s a vicious cycle, but I’m back in an “I want to wear more eyeshadow” phase again. So, here we are with Naked 3.
Initially, I was concerned because Naked 3 is a lot of pale pinky colors, which can make dark skin look ashy so I wasn’t trying to be about that life. But then, I got sucked into the Sephora vortex and started swatching. The colors are actually really pretty pinky, mauvy rose gold kinda colors. I love rose gooooold! So, the respective Sephora and Urban Decay forces took over and I was commanded to purchase the palette. What you’re seeing in the photo above is a date night look that I freestyled. Sorry, I’m not a photo retouching wiz so it’s the best I could do. Here’s a slightly better glimpse (I think):
I used Strange as a base and put Nooner over my lids. Blackheart went in my crease. I used concealer as my highlight and I got to blending something serious because I didn’t want too much of a smokey eye. If you’re not familiar with the palette, you’re probably like soooo…what are these colors you speak of? Lemme splain…
It’s 12 colors. Starting on the left side are the paler hues, and then it gets darker as the palette continues right.
Before we proceed, the lighting kind of effed up my swatches. Again, I’m still figuring out how to maximize my photo light potential so work with me. I didn’t use flash with these photos, which would have made the situation worse but know that each of the colors swatched on my arm below are a little more pink than they’re showing up except for Strange.
Remember in my date night look photo where I said I used Strange, Nooner and Blackheart? Of course you do! I used Strange as a base because I think the first three colors on the left are better for that purpose, or for using as highlights in the eye ducts, on my complexion.
Blackheart is my absolute favorite. I’m a fan of smokey eyes so it’s perfect. The other part of this is, while the colors are highly pigmented, there’s a lot of fall out. Seriously, it could get really messy with sparkly eyeshadow making it rain on your clothes, counter tops, sink, and other parts of your face. My tip to you–which I got from a Sephora makeup artist–is to dip your brush in a little bit of setting spray or primer before dabbing it in a color palette.
The overall verdict: I give this palette an A, no plus because of the fallout. It’s perfect for creating feminine or even feminine with a touch of edge kind of looks.